The company has failed to protect my generation online, and that’s because it has gotten too big to care. 

Speaking with the youth-led coalition Design It For Us, they stressed that young people are not “helpless” or “in need of help” alone. They emphasized the importance of giving youth more control over their digital lives.

Kaitlynn Cherry, a 20-year-old Boston University student, supported the bill on behalf of youth-led coalition Design It For Us. Cherry said she was lucky that her parents taught her about staying safe online, and “ensuring I always read the terms and conditions.” She admitted that kind of support system is not the reality for many minors. “We cannot put the onus on parents like mine to safeguard my generation.”

Amici Encode AI Corp., Design It For Us, and the Young People’s Alliance (collectively,
Encode) filed their brief March 31.

But Zamaan Qureshi, with the youth advocacy group Design It For Us, says the company needs to make fundamental changes to the app’s features that allow predators to thrive online. 

“It’s a great place for young people to connect. But we cannot ignore the detrimental impacts that this application has had for many young people,” he said.

Last week, I witnessed a watershed moment in the fight for digital rights as the young leaders of Design It For Us gathered virtually to unveil their Declaration of Digital Rights. Their message was clear and powerful: “We are a generation that has grown up almost entirely online, and we’ve been addicted, manipulated, and taken advantage of by Big Tech. Enough is enough.”

Since 2023, Qureshi’s organization has advocated for federal legislation — none of which has passed — that would restrict the kinds of data apps can collect and install guardrails for kids with their most addictive features. The group’s members don’t all have the same views on TikTok, but they’re so concerned about the dangers of online life that they developed their own kids’ Declaration of Digital Rights, complete with a “We the young people” preamble.

Lee belongs to Active Minds, a campus organization that aims to increase awareness of mental health conditions, and to Design It For Us, a coalition advocating for safer social media platforms. She’s a member of the youth boards at Mental Health America and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Lee also works with the North Carolina Zoo to research how chimpanzees of different age ranges react to smartphones and tablets.

Arielle Geismar, Co-Chair, Design It For Us, a youth-led coalition. Arielle is a content creator, digital wellness advocate, and leader in student organizing. Arielle’s organizing has reached areas around mental health, technology ethics, and LGBTQ+ rights. Named Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21, she has been featured in the NY Times, MTV, CNN, and more.

Currently, she works for the nonprofit Design It For Us, which is a youth-led coalition that advocates for safer online platforms and social media. The coalition started in 2022 as a campaign to support a bill in California that requires companies to consider possible harm their products might cause for young users.

On Tuesday, a range of advocacy groups will host a holiday-themed rally that features parents who have lost children to online bullying, drug sales and other exploitative content. Groups include the Eating Disorder Coalition for Research, Policy and Action; Fairplay; ParentsTogether; Accountable Tech; and Design It For Us.

As a young person who cares deeply about the online safety of my peers, I am hoping that our congressional leaders will step up before the end of the year to protect my generation online.